Package for paper drinking-cups.



J. A. an. E. SHERMAN.

PACKAGE FOR PAPER DRINKING CUPS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. l. 1914.

Patented Apr. 10, 1917.

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SETT-S.

PACKAGE FOR PAIPER- DRINKING- 3111 53.

Application filed September 1, 1914.

To all whom it may concern I Be it known that we, Jenn A. lineman: and Jcan EnwAnn SHERMAN, both of Worcester, in the county of \Vorcester andState of Massachusetts, citizens of the United States, have invented anew, useful, and Improved Package for Paper Drinking- Cups, of which thefollowing is a specification.

In the present demand for sanitary d rinking" cups so-called, the demandhas also arisen for containers in which they are deposited and fromwhich they are withdrawn to be used. Such containers, so tar as we know,are fixtures attached to the wall of the building or car which arerefilled from time to time as occasion requires. lhc cups come in bulk,so to spealc, from the manufacturer, and when the shipping; box has beenopened the cups are taken by hand by the janitor or railway porter orbrakeman and are inserted in the container which is then closed. ihisarrangement is hardly sanitary because the cups are thus handled in thenatural order of business by men whose usual work is not 'clean and whocould not be expected to handle them witli clean hands. Moreover, unlessthe container is constantly cleaned out, afterdt has been in use for atime it collects dirt and germs which are collected on the cupsthemselves' The whole scheme, therefore, though in its conception asanitary measure does not necessarily fulfil its purpose.

Our invention. is a serving, container or package which is filled withcups and sealed at the factory where the cups are made and requires nomanipulation except unpacking and hanging onthe wall so that the cupsare not touched after they leave the factory until put into actual use.p When emptied the container may be replaced by another and thrown awaybecause of its cheapness. It is preferably made of cheap strawboard andafter being filled is covered and sealed with more or lessornamentalpaper which. may carry advertisements if dcsired'so that itscost its infinitesimal.

Our invention will bB lllfllfil'SlZOOd by reference to the drawings, inwhi hw Figure 1 is a vertical section of our paclo age attached to awall, taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 2.-

Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented i "3*.

Eteriai Ii'o. 859,704.

Fi 3 is a vertical section on line :1-o of Pig. 1 of an empty container,and

Fig. 4 is an elevation of a convenient form of attaching,- hook attachedto the wall.

Fig. 5 is a detail.

A is the wall or other support to which is attached the hook by whichthe imcllage is supported. This hook may he of any man vci'iient shapebut preferably consists of a plate l8 provided with screw holes forscrews 1) by which it is attached to its support and a tongue it whichis oti'set about the thickness of the material of which the container ismade. This tongue has preferably a lip if out from it and. projectingdownward. This lip does not interfere with the hanging; of the containeron the hook but renders it ditlicult to remove it.

The container is preferably made of a size in horizontal section toreceive the cups l). t'oldcd iiat and is of sullicicnt height to holdsay 256 cups. It is shown at {I and is made of a single thickness oipastebmlrd, strawboard, or the like, in the nature oi a box into whichthe cups are packed. it is then closed and covered and sealed. withpaper so that the contents as a whole cannot be handled and the cups canonly he removed one by one as now to be described.

The bottom or door ol the container is provided with a cup support inthe term of a strip of wood or other material c, pr crably a littlethicker at the rear than at the -Front so that the cups will slantforward somewhat from the rear to the trout. M: the front lower edge ofthe container we provide a. slot 1." which is the entire width of thecontainer and through which the cups may be withdrawn one by one.

From Fig. 2 it'will be seen that the cups are raised by the strip cabove the level of the slot 1; and to enable the lower cup to bewithdrawn we provide notches E, F, one for the finger and the other forthe thumb so that the lower cup may be grasped and pulled down and outthrough the slot 0, allowing the next cup above it to take its place.

Divin to the thinness of the paper with which i518 container is coveredit cannot be the strawboard and hence no attempt has been made to showit. It will be understood,

however that the entire container is cov- *---"they' cannot slide out.

" 'retaining the cups will suggest themselves td tlgpse spilled in theart.-

ered with paper so that the paper seals the container except at the slot0 and notches E, F.

To f'suppo'rt the container on the hook B,

B we cut a slit 0 in the rear ofthe container through which the tongue Bof the .hook

may enter the containerpthe container rest-' tainer at g the protectingstrip G of strawboard or the like which lies between the pile of cupsand the slit 0 so that when the tongue B enters through the slit 0 itwill, engage the strip G and slide upward thereon until the containerrests on the offset. Thus the cups are prevented from injury and theupper cups can never engage the hook and so accidentally be preventedfrom settling into place as the lower cups are withdrawn. I

For shipping we provide an ordinary cover to c lose the slotted end ofthe container. Such a cover is indicated by dotted lines at H, Fig. 2,and when the container is put into use the cover is .thrown away. Theadvantages of our container will be apparent. The sealing of the cups atthe factory is practically essential to the sanitary success of the useof individual. cups as above explained and this requires the use of acontainer strong enough to maintain its shape and position when hung upand yet of sulficiently low cost tobe thrown away when empty, forrailroad companies and other buyers will not go to the trouble andexpense of returning containers to be refilled. It will be noted thatthe strip 0 holds the lower cup out of register with the slot so thatwhen the last cups are left in the container Other means of so hat weclaim as our invention is:

1. The device above described comprising a container having a slotextending substantially the entire width thereof along. one of itsbottom edges and notches in each Wall adjacent said slot, said containerbeing provided with means to support articles out of register ivith saidslot and in register with 1. said notches.

V 2. The-device above described comprising a sealed container havingvertical sides and a slot along one of its bottom edges, cups located insaid container, means for holding said cups out of register with saidslot and in slanted relation, comprising a floor extending from the rearedge of said 0011- tainer nearly to its forward edge, said floor belngthicker at its rear edge than at its forward edge whereby the lowermostcups will engage the front vertical wall of said contalner above saidslot, and notches in the edges of said slot whereby the lowermost ofsaid cups may be grasped, pulled into register with said slot andwithdrawn therethrough. i

3. The device above described comprising a sealed container made ofdestructible materia1,'having a slot along one of its bottom edges andnotches in each wall adjacent to said slot, and a cup support on "theinner side of the bottom thereof located to'deliver cups to said slot,said container being provided with a slit in its rear wall adapted toreceive a supporting means, in combination with a protecting stripattached to the rear -1nner wall of said contalner and loosely coveringsaid slit.

JOHN'AMES SHERMAN. JOHN EDl/VARD SHERMAN.

